PETRINO'S RETURN

Former Jags aide denies a rift with Coughlin

By GARRY SMITSThe Times-Union,

Bobby Petrino wants to get one thing straight.

"There is no story about me and [former Jaguars coach] Tom Coughlin," the Louisville coach and former Jaguars offensive coordinator said during a recent trip to Jacksonville. "[Working under Coughlin] wasn't frustrating, not at all."

There have been numerous rumors and innuendo to the contrary. Talk-radio and sports-bar scuttlebutt after Petrino abruptly left the Jaguars following the 2001 season to take the same position with Auburn painted him as weary of working under a dictator and so unhappy that he grabbed the first job he could.

Petrino also had become a whipping boy for the Jaguars' offensive problems in 2000 and 2001 after they went from Super Bowl contenders in 1999 to a team that has yet to return to the playoffs. And Petrino could never explain his side of the story or lash out, since one of Coughlin's biggest rules was that assistant coaches couldn't talk to the media.

But Petrino's return to Jacksonville when the 15th-ranked Cardinals were invited to play No.12 Virginia Tech in the Jan.2 Gator Bowl at Alltel Stadium naturally brought questions about his departure.

Petrino, a Montana native and the offensive coordinator for Louisville in 1998, said there wasn't any deep, dark mystery surrounding the circumstances of leaving an NFL job for the same position in college. He also made it clear that his focus is on winning the first January bowl appearance for Louisville since 1991.

Petrino said the main reason he went to Auburn is that Coughlin didn't allow the children of coaches or players to be in the locker room or on the sidelines at practices and games. And Petrino said it's important for him to have his two teen-aged sons, Nick and Bobby, as part of his professional life.

"I left the pro game because I wanted my boys to be back on the sideline and the locker room and be a part of it," he said. "They weren't that here. It's how it was for any [Jaguars] coach."

Petrino tries to end most questions about his past with the Jaguars on that note, and he wants to talk instead of trying to win the Gator Bowl.

"We're coming down here to work hard and win this game," he said earlier this month. "We owe it to our seniors to end the season right, and to the rest of the team to try and get us off to a good start in the rankings next year."

Louisville football coach Bobby Petrino is 29-7 at a school that is better known for its basketball program. Special to the Times-Union

Louisville (9-2) and Virginia Tech (10-2) will report to Jacksonville on Tuesday and begin workouts Wednesday. The Cardinals will practice at the University of North Florida, and the Hokies, who were invited back to Jacksonville despite losing the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game to Florida State on Dec.3, will work out at Jacksonville University.

The game will match Petrino's offense, ranked seventh in the nation in total yards (it was first in 2004) and third in scoring, against Virginia Tech's defense, ranked first in the country in least points allowed per game and third in total defense.

The burden would appear to be on the Hokies to slow down the Cardinals. With Petrino's guidance, Louisville has scored less than 30 points in a game just once this season (a 45-14 loss to South Florida) and 40 or more eight times. That includes 60-point games against Florida Atlantic, Oregon State and North Carolina.

"Bobby Petrino has done a tremendous job," ESPN analyst and former Louisville coach Lee Corso said. "There was no question he was going to have a great offense there, and he's smart enough to know defense will take him to the next level. He's been a good coach at the pro and college level."

Louisville quarterback Hunter Cantwell, who became the starter after sophomore Brian Brohm tore his anterior cruciate ligament last month, said exhaustive preparation is Petrino's secret.

"We have good game plans, and we know what we're going to do in almost any situation," he said. "Plus, I think we have a tendency to listen to coach Petrino because anyone who was an offensive coordinator in the NFL probably knows how to move the ball on any defense."

Petrino said he doesn't have a preference in coaching college or professional football.

"I like them both," he said. "In college, you're in the education business as much as the football business. You bring in 17- and 18-year-old kids and teach them things other than football, things that will help them the rest of their lives. The NFL is in the entertainment business, but you're still teaching the Xs and Os and strategy."

Toyota Gator Bowl

Who: Virginia Tech vs. Louisville.

When: 12:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 2

Where: Alltel Stadium.

TV: NBC.

Records: Virginia Tech is 10-2; Louisville is 9-2.

Petrino said the only drawback in coaching college is the limitation put on time spent with the players -- 20 hours per week, by NCAA rules.

"You spend a lot more time in the meeting room with the players in the pros," he said.

Petrino is 29-7 in three years at Louisville and has been in a bowl game each season. His offense is being received with much more acclaim than it did with the Jaguars.

However, Petrino said he never let criticism he received with the Jaguars get to him, mainly because he claims not to have noticed it.

"I never worried about it," he said. "You don't have enough time in the day to worry about things like that. I was too busy trying to get first downs and touchdowns."

Petrino said he has spoken with Coughlin at social functions such as golf tournaments since leaving the Jaguars and said they had "a good relationship."

"It's always been very professional between Tom and me," he said. "He treated me great when I was [with the Jaguars], and I learned a lot about football. It was a great experience for me."

But winning in Jacksonville with his own team, coached on his own terms, could be an even greater experience.